The Wind of Change

By Mark Jenkinson, Crystal Associates and SELCC Board Member.

However, there wasn’t much mention of “climate change”. Nevertheless, in its first week, the new Government has made several climate-related announcements, including the de facto scrapping of the ban on onshore wind development.

Like the sentiment of the 1990 song by German rock band Scorpions, could this have the power to bring about transformation or alter the status quo, as momentous as the fall of the Berlin Wall? Is this the ‘wind of change’?

In the King’s Speech on 17th July the new Government confirmed that it “recognises the urgency of the global climate challenge and the new job opportunities that can come from leading the development of the technologies of the future.” It laid out plans to set up Great British Energy, a publicly owned clean power company headquartered in Scotland, which will help accelerate investment in renewable energy such as offshore wind. Legislation will be brought forward to help the country achieve energy independence and unlock investment in energy infrastructure. Bills will also be introduced to support sustainable aviation fuel production and to strengthen the powers of the water regulator with the aim of improving water quality.

Other Government announcements include the setting up of a National Wealth Fund and the ‘Mission Control’ unit, aimed at achieving clean power by 2030. All positive steps.

So, what have we been doing at a local level, I hear you ask. Apart from getting very wet in all this rain, we’ve also been doing a lot!

Showing Carbon the Red Card

Hopefully by the time you read this, you’ll be over England’s loss to Spain in the Euro’s final and be able to handle some football analogies.

“Showing Carbon the Red Card: Outcomes and Next Steps” was published by South East London Chamber of Commerce on 7th May and details the discussions, outcomes and next steps arising from the Greener Greenwich Summit 2024 held in March at Charlton Athletic Football Club.

As a reminder, the four most popular projects/ initiatives chosen by delegates at the Summit were:

• All Greenwich businesses to develop a carbon footprint action plan

• Scale up energy efficiency measures in domestic / non-domestic buildings

• All organisations to develop a green travel plan

• Employers to pledge their support to local colleges and universities to deliver the right Green & Digital skills in the borough

During the Summit we also discussed and documented 13 other projects/initiatives.

If you’ve not had chance to read the report –once you’ve finished reading this column – you can find it here: https://issuu.com/benham/ docs/greener_greenwich_2024

SELCC Sustainability Group

In order to drive action around the projects identified at the Greener Greenwich Summit and support wider sustainability activities we set up the SELCC Sustainability Group.

Made up of representatives from the Chamber’s Strategic Partners and chaired by my good self, we held our inaugural meeting on 11th June at Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN).

As well as an impressive tour of ASN’s Greenwich impressive high-end manufacturing facility and seeing their sustainability initiatives first hand, the group members shared their own activities and good practice.

The plan is for the Group to meet four times a year. Our next meeting will be a workshop focused on energy efficiency and decarbonisation measures. I’ll report back in the next edition.

Green Skills Breakfast

A week earlier on 5th June I was invited to speak at the ‘Tools for Tomorrow: Construction Green Skills Breakfast’ organised by London South East Colleges (LSEC) and the Local London Skills Providers.

The session held at Bromley Central Library with SMEs, sole traders and contractors explored the growing need for green skills, from retrofitting to cutting-edge technologies, and providing valuable insights into this growing sector.

As a follow-up, attendees were offered the opportunity to visit LSEC’s Bromley campus to see its Green Hub, which I would definitely recommend.

Green Business Action London

It is encouraging to hear that several businesses signed up to the Green Business Action London programme at the Greener Greenwich Summit 2024 to support the development of your carbon reduction plans – in line with the first ‘Just1Thing’ project referred to earlier.

If you weren’t in a position to sign up in March but would now like to benefit from the programme, then fear not! A new programme with a new cohort is due to start in September. If this of interest, drop the Chamber a line. We will also look to schedule a webinar to explain more.

office@selondonchamber.org.

What’s Next?

So, what’s the plan for the next few months?

Ideally better weather – clearly lots of wind can be beneficial for cheap renewable energy but not if it will ‘rock you like a hurricane’. [Anyone get the Scorpions link?]

Hopefully you’ll be reading this column and the rest of Masthead on a sunny afternoon sitting in the garden, a local park or on the beach with a nice cold drink!

While you’re doing that, we’ll be holding our second SELCC Sustainability Group meeting, discussing sustainability at the various Breakfasts and Link ‘n Drinks taking place across the boroughs, and firming up a programme of ‘green’ activities from September. Enjoy the Summer, when it arrives!